In general, cleaning of dental (teeth) surfaces with a stream of high-velocity liquid droplets is known. Such systems are particularly useful for cleaning of interproximal spaces. One system for generating the liquid droplets involves merging liquid flowing from a reservoir into a fast-moving gas stream, such as provided by a source of compressed gas. Dental appliances using such systems are activated by a user operating a button or the like, releasing successive bursts of compressed gas, which results in a high velocity gas stream. When this high velocity gas stream comes into contact with a flow of liquid from the reservoir, liquid droplets are produced.
The velocity and size of the droplets can vary, but typically the droplets will have a size in the range of 5-500 microns, and a velocity within a range of 10-200 meters per second. The velocity of the gas stream will also vary; however, a typical range would be 30-600 meters per second. In many cases, liquid is drawn from the liquid reservoir and delivered into the gas stream by a mechanism separate from the flow of gas itself. This results in a higher-cost appliance. It is desirable to have an appliance which produces liquid droplets for cleaning where multiple functions, including the liquid flow and the creation of droplets, can be accomplished by a single, relatively simple system.